OF THE RED CLOVER. 279 



ments, with the view of obtaining- some information on this 

 subject, and conceived that we were more Hkelj to ai-rive at 

 the truth by beginning- at the g-ermination of the seed, and 

 marking- witli care the progress which it made in the ditie- 

 rent stag-es of its g-rovvth. A piece of ground was selected 

 atljoining- the house, the soil consisting- of a lig-ht fresh loam, 

 and as much alike in character as one soil could be. Two 

 rows of boards, 8 inches broad, were placed edg-eways, 

 parallel with each other, at G feet apart in the g-round. The 

 earth was then put in, and equalized between the boards till 

 an inclined plane was formed by it, with a rise of 1 inch in 

 the foot. The earth was thus level with the upper edg-e 

 of the south board, and G inches below the upper edge of 

 the north one. This inclined plane, though onl^^ G feet 

 wide, was 70 feet in length. Sixty-eight gentle impres- 

 sions were made upon the mould with the handle of a 

 rake, after the plane was made as smooth and uniform as 

 it could be. In those impressions, the same number of 

 the dilferent kinds of seeds most commonl}^ used in agri- 

 culture were sown,i and more earth was then put in till 

 it was level with the upper edge of the boards. The seed 

 sown in this way, had little or no cover of earth at one 

 end of the rows ; but the cover gradually increased, till it 

 reached a depth of G inches at the other end. The boards 

 enabled us to make this cover with great accuracy, so that 

 at ever}' part of the rows in which the seed germinated, 

 there was an inch of additional covering of soil for every 

 foot in length ; so that by api)lying- the foot-rule to the 

 surface, we could ascertain at any time the depth of the 

 seeds, and by assuming the half of the space in which the 

 seeds germinated, that gave the j)roper depth of covering. 

 The seeds were equally exempted from the risk of germi- 

 nation, being prevented by too much cover, and at the same 

 time from being lost, in case of dry weather, from having 

 too little. We thus arrived at what may, with confidence, 

 be regarded as the proper depth at which clover seed 

 shoukl be placed ; and of six samples sown in this way, 

 namely, English, French, American, Flemish, Juliers, Suck- 

 lings, the average, and therefore the proper depth may be 

 stated at 1 inch. 



There is no doubt that seeds will germinate at a greater 

 depth in a light gravelly or sandy soil than in a clayey 



' For these, we are indebted to the kindness of Mr. Thomas Kennedy, 

 aursery and seed:3maD, Dumfries. 



